"Our Navajo veterans have fought on the
frontlines for the protection of Navajo sovereignty and our way of life.
Utilizing funding from the Navajo Veterans Trust Fund to build them new
homes is the least we can do for them," Shelly said during the signing
ceremony on Tuesday in his office in Window Rock, Ariz.
In September, the Navajo Nation Council
approved legislation to divide the mandatory funds set aside for the
Navajo Nation Veterans Trust Fund.
Each year, 4 percent of the tribe’s projected revenue is transferred into the Veterans Trust Fund.
The 4 percent will now be divided by sending 2
percent to the trust fund and 2 percent to the veterans affairs
department through fiscal year 2017.
The veterans affairs department is using its
amount to construct at least 15 homes and provide minor home renovations
for veterans in each of the tribe’s five agencies.
Shelly signed the bill into law on Sept. 13,
and the contract to receive construction materials from Home Depot was
submitted for the tribe’s review process by the veterans affairs
department on Dec. 23. After it completed the review process, it was
submitted to president’s office last week for his signature.
The $1.9 million contract will provide housing
material for 75 homes through Dec. 30, 2014. The homes will be energy
efficient one-, two- or three-bedrooms houses and will be 700, 900 or
1,100 square feet.
David Nez, who heads the veterans affairs
department, attended the signing ceremony along with Joseph Lucero, a
pro account sales associate with Farmington’s Home Depot, and Tim
Goodluck, a senior planner with the veterans affairs department.
By: Noel Lyn Smith
